AN extra hour in bed may sound blissful, but the bonus snooze time can disrupt your body clock and actually lead to sleep problems.
For those who struggle with sleep, it can be surprisingly challenging to change your routine of what time you go to bed and wake up.
Jane Atkinson looks at ways to help you nod off so you can enjoy a healthy night’s rest.
Dim the lights
LIGHT is the most important external factor affecting sleep.
Our circadian rhythm (the 24-hour internal clock that regulates cycles of alertness and sleep-iness) responds to light so you feel more alert or sleepy depending on the time of the day.
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This amazing lighting system from Nanoleaf includes a circadian lighting feature that automatically adjusts the colour throughout the day to mimic the sun.
This give your body natural signals for increased energy during the day and a better sleep at night.
You can turn it to what-ever level you want via Siri and Google Assistant.
Pricey but they are soothing – and look great.
Nanoleaf Elements, £199.99, nanoleaf.me/en-GB
Listen to music
DON’T listen to banging music before you go to bed.
However if you listen to soothing tunes, it can enhances sleep because of its effects on the regulation of hormones, including the stress hormone cortisol.
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Healthy sleep has more to do with quality of rest than quantity of hours and sleep meditations or music help create the inner conditions needed.
These earphones have amazing quality for when you’re awake plus they are very neat for sleeping in.
Cambridge Audio’s sleep-friendly bargain Melomania 1+ earphones come with three sizes of silicone, two sizes of memory foam tips included and 45 hours of battery life from one charge.
I liked these and even found them comfortable when I was sleeping on my side.
Cambridge Audio Melomania 1+ earphones, £49.95, amazon.co.uk
Have a sleepy shake
WE all know Horlicks is traditionally a warm drink that you have in order to nod off.
Now the company has created a new nourishing shake with added herbs to help you get a brilliant nights sleep.
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Horlicks Healthy Sleep contains valerian, a great sleep-supporting herb with sedative and anxiety-relieving properties to help you drop off and encourage undisturbed sleep, and camomile.
The shake is also formulated with Vitamins B12, B6 and C, which are known to reduce tiredness and fatigue, and has the same great flavour of the classic, too.
This really helped me wind down.
Horlicks Healthy Sleep, 400g pouch (10 servings) £14.99 at Horlicks.co.uk
